After my alarm yanked me awake, I checked my phone and in-game chat. Nothing urgent. One chat message was from James…Falstaff…letting me know they handled the 1 a.m. spawn with just five people. Yoshi was lined up to tank the 7 a.m. spawn with Meg, Ryan, Joe-mic, and a new mage.

  Lying there in bed, I couldn’t decide if I should get up or grab another hour of sleep. Instead of deciding, I lay there, thinking about what the federal government’s descent on Eddington might turn into. Good things and bad things. It bothered me quite a bit, because I thought of more bad things than good.

  [Meg:] [William of Brinsford] [Will! Need help right now.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Meg] [coming]

  “Shit! Blaze!” I shouted, scrambling to pull my pants on. “Meg’s in trouble!”

  I didn’t bother with a shirt, but I jammed my feet into my pants and slipped my shoes on. And put my glasses on at the same time before rushing to the living room.

  On the way outside, I grabbed my baldric off the coat rack in one hand and my hat in the other. Stopping at the door, I slung the baldric over my shoulder. Can’t leave home without it. It’s a tradition.

  I threw open the door.

  “Coming!” Blaze called from the hallway behind me.

  The early morning air was cool and damp, carrying that clean, earthy smell you get before the sun burns off the dew. Across the street, I saw Yoshi trying to keep a big Goblin and four Kobolds on him.

  Just as I stepped onto the porch. A Kobold dropped to the pavement, its body crackling from Ryan’s lightning strike. Wooden stakes were sticking out of two other Kobolds, and the smell of scorched flesh and ozone hung in the air.

  Blaze caught up, sandals slapping on the porch, as I shifted sideways to get her a clear shot. I fired an overpowered MANA BOLT at the Goblin, knocking it back and down.

  A FIRE BOLT from Blaze hissed past my shoulder, taking out a Kobold with a whoosh of heat. Another WOOD BOLT and a clean slash from Yoshi’s sword dropped the last Kobold, its head rolling onto the pavement.

  Ryan hit the Goblin with another LIGHTNING BOLT, but the thing just twitched, from the jolt of electricity.

  “Damn it! Mom’s gonna kill me,” Yoshi muttered.

  “Yoshi, what’s wrong? You, okay?” I asked, I yelled, rushing across the street, which was thankfully empty at the moment.

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  His right vambrace, or lower arm protection, was sliced open, and a red line from an already healing cut showed on his forearm beneath. A gash marred the chest piece of his armor, too.

  “She’s gonna know I got hit,” he sighed. “She worries, then complains she has to sew it up. Again.”

  I started laughing, picturing his mom as a fierce mama bear, scolding him while stitching his armor. Kid just tanked four monsters with a sword and is worried about a lecture from his mother. I couldn’t blame him, though. He’d faced them down, holding them long enough for Ryan and…REVEAL STATS…Seldon Wong, the Wood Mage, to drop one and weaken the others.

  “Jack, I’ll sew that cut for you so your mom won’t have to,” Meg said, checking the damage. “You doing okay otherwise?”

  He glanced at her, still breathing hard. “Yeah, I think so. Didn’t have time to think. Just attacked, used SHOUT to keep them on me. Too busy blocking to think, really.”

  “Welcome to real-world fighting,” I told him. “Even if we hadn’t shown up, you four would’ve beaten them. Just would’ve taken longer.”

  “Why’s there only four of you?” Blaze asked, shivering for a moment when a cool morning breeze hit her. She was wearing just a t-shirt, shorts and sandals.

  “Jo-mic, our Fire Mage, overslept,” Ryan said, catching his breath. “They spawned just as he messaged us. We only expected three, not four.”

  [Bartholomew Ironshaper:] [Irregulars] [There are 3 Kobolds. It’s changing.]

  “Bhaarrt says others are seeing three Kobolds,” I relayed. “Might stay like that today, but it could change again tomorrow.”

  [William of Brinsford:] [Irregulars] [I confirm that. 3 Kobolds and 1 Goblin]

  “Jack, Ryan, loot the bodies before they vanish,” I reminded them.

  They scrambled, checking pouches and weapons as light blue sparks rose from the bodies, the faint glow of dissipating MANA outlining them as they vanished in the dawn light.

  “Sixty experience,” Ryan said, holding up a handful of coins. “And sixty shields. Usual sword and leather armor.”

  “At least it’s consistent,” Blaze noted. “Maybe as the spawns change, the loot will, too.” She glanced at me. “I only got ten experience. Because I wasn’t in the party?”

  “Looks like it,” I said, stretching my shoulders. “I got thirty for hitting the Goblin. They got sixty because they’re in a party.”

  A car slowed nearby, the driver staring at the scene. I waved her on. “All done! Move along, ma’am!” I yelled. She hesitated, then slowly drove off.

  [Jack Brown:] [William of Brinsford] [Will. Something’s happening at the old K-Mart on the east side. The building is glowing blue, kinda like your magic. Can you get over there and figure out what’s going on?]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Jack Brown] [Can do. I’ll bring Blaze, but we need to get properly dressed first. Got rousted out of bed because different monsters spawned across the street.]

  [Jack Brown:] [William of Brinsford] [Understood. Quick as you can. OK?]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Jack Brown] [Will do.]

  “Chief Brown just chatted me,” I told Blaze. “Something’s happening at the old K-Mart on the east side. We need to gear up and get over there.”

  She nodded and headed back into the house.

  “Come on, Jack,” Meg said, patting his arm. “They need to move, and I’ve got some sewing to do before you get to school.”

  “Thanks for coming out, Will,” Ryan said, giving me a tired grin. “Go help the cops, let us know what’s going on.”

  “Will do,” I said, starting back toward the house to catch up with Blaze. “Catch you all later and let you know what’s happening.”

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDtabTufxao

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